Tony Hawk veterans bring Epic Skater to Kickstarter

Another day, another video game Kickstarter campaign goes live – though this is one you might want to pay attention to. Its name is Epic Skater, and it’s made by some of the developers who worked on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Guitar Hero. If you’re a fan of skateboarding games and that doesn’t get your ears to perk up, then we’re not really sure what will.

Here’s the idea: Epic Skater is a side-scrolling skateboarding game for iOS and Android. Developer UpUpStart promises that there won’t be any touchscreen buttons that gamers seem to hate so much, with your skater instead being controlled through screen swipes. You’ll be skating through real-world locations, earning XP, leveling up, and unlocking new tricks along the way.

The team behind Epic Skater has set a goal of $50,000, which is the minimum they need in order to ship the game. If they manage to raise $100,000, create-a-skater mode will be added to the game, and Epic Skater will get releases on Steam and OUYA (it’ll be an OUYA launch title). At $150,000, players will get a multiplayer mode that allows them to compete against their friends’ ghosts along with a turn-based “Skate with Homies” mode.

Most of the lower reward tiers give standard Kickstarter bonuses, such as in-game characters, beta access, in-game credits, and Epic Skater shirts. Once you start climbing up the tiers, however, you get the opportunity to have an in-game statue build in your honor, or even have a playable character modeled in your likeness, which are pretty cool rewards. Pledge $10,000 or more, and not only do you get all of the lower reward tiers, but you also get an entire level designed around you or your brand.

Epic Skater is just starting out on Kickstarter, with 29 days left to go and $1,521 raised at the time of this writing. It sounds like a great idea, especially since it uses swipe controls instead of onscreen buttons. Follow the link above if you’re interested in pledging, and keep it tuned to SlashGear, where we’ll have more information on Epic Skater throughout the course of the Kickstarter!